Poll: Biden’s Support among Black Voters Drops after First Debate
Joe Biden, who continues to lead in early polling of the 2020 Democratic presidential race, appears to be hemorrhaging support among African-American voters after last week’s first presidential-primary debate, in which he was taken to task for his controversial remarks about segregationist senators and past opposition to busing.
Black voters’ support for Biden, 76, fell from 40 percent to 20 percent after the debate, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Senator Kamala Harris made headlines during the debate when she personally dressed down the former vice president, attacking his record on race.
“I will direct this at Vice President Biden,” began the California senator, who is Jamaican and Indian. “I do not believe you are a racist and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground, but . . . it’s personal and it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and careers on the segregation of race in this country.”
“It was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing,” Harris continued. “There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day. That little girl was me.”
Biden made the remarks Harris was referring to last month, at a fundraiser in New York City, where he reminisced about bygone days when politics was characterized by a higher level of civility, citing his ability to get along with two segregationist senators despite their differences as an example.
“At least there was some civility. We got things done. We didn’t agree on much of anything,” Biden said. “But today you look at the other side and you’re the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don’t talk to each other anymore.”
Harris meanwhile received the biggest spike in support of any Democratic presidential candidate after the debate, gaining four percentage points to hit 10 percent, which puts her fourth behind Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll.
